Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee

Whatcom County's Finance and Administrative Services Committee moved decisively toward solving its longtime Northwest Annex facility problem by discussing the proposed purchase of Western Washington University's administrative services building for $7.3 million. The major development emerged from committee discussions on January 27, 2026, where Facilities Director Rob Ney presented a comprehensive plan to abandon the county's stalled $63 million Northwest Annex redevelopment project in favor of purchasing the existing 30,000-square-foot building near Sehome Village. The meeting addressed 20 agenda bills across three categories: 11 consent items that passed unanimously, six discussion items scheduled for council introduction, and three items requiring committee recommendation. The consent agenda moved routine contracts and amendments totaling over $1.4 million, including water infrastructure improvements, security services, and collective bargaining agreements. The centerpiece discussion focused on three interconnected agenda bills (AB2026-097, AB2026-099, AB2026-105) that would fund the Western building purchase through multiple sources: $2.5 million from closing the Northwest Annex redevelopment fund, $3 million from capital reserves, $1 million from Economic Development Initiative funds, and $1.2 million redirected from Hovander Park building improvements. The acquisition cost would be approximately $260 per square foot compared to the $650 per square foot projected for new construction. Council members raised pointed concerns about relocating Planning and Development Services from the north county annex site to downtown Bellingham, potentially creating accessibility challenges for unincorporated area residents who comprise the department's primary clientele. Council Member Ben Elenbaas called the presentation of this as "just 5 minutes further" to be "insane," noting it's actually "at least 25 minutes to a half hour" and criticized the approach as "forecasting for stagnant growth" and not caring about constituent needs. The committee also discussed a $2.36 million budget request for the ongoing jail validation process, expected to conclude in June with final size and scope recommendations, and approved $475,000 for Glacier restroom improvements funded through lodging tax revenue. Three resolutions advanced to full council, including acceptance of $3.3 million in property tax refunds and cancellation of uncollectible personal property taxes.

**Consent Agenda (All items passed 7-0):** - AB2026-044: Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center family mediation contract amendment - $70,000 additional, total $135,000 - AB2026-052: Bellingham public safety radio repair rate increase from $125 to $150 per hour - AB2026-056: Marine Resources Committee operations grant - $147,000 from Washington State Department of Ecology - AB2026-057: Pacific Security courthouse screening services contract amendment - $90,000 - AB2026-058: Birch Bay Water and Sewer District interlocal agreement for water line relocation - $0 cost - AB2026-059: Pacific Security evening patrol services contract amendment - $99,960 - AB2026-067: Maple Falls Water Cooperative tank replacement - $555,300 (increased from 37,000 to 47,000 gallon capacity) - AB2026-070: Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence interlocal amendment - AB2026-077: Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center supervised visitation services - $115,000 additional, total $226,000 - AB2026-090: Puget Sound Energy utility easement across park property for underground electrical services - AB2026-096: Sheriff's Office Management Group collective bargaining agreement for 2025-2027 **Committee Recommendations (All passed 6-0 with one member away):** - AB2026-047: Acceptance of treasurer's property tax refund list totaling $3.3 million (higher than average due to Board of Equalization value changes) - AB2026-050: Cancellation of uncollectible personal property taxes - AB2026-066: Update to Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy project list (substitute version approved) **Discussion Items (All advanced for council introduction):** - Northwest Annex facility replacement package totaling approximately $7.3 million - Glacier restroom improvements funded at $475,000 over two years - New jail facility validation phase funding of $2.36 million - County budget amendment totaling $7,123,065 covering multiple departmental needs Staff recommendations aligned with all committee actions, with no divergence between staff proposals and committee decisions.

**Rob Ney, on the Northwest Annex building condition:** "It has reached its useful life, and we have been trying to find an alternative for it for some time." **Ben Elenbaas, on the location impact:** "Yeah, you can say that all permitting is all online. Well, nobody, nobody wants it that way. Like, you don't have to come into the office. Yeah, by force. That's like us forecasting for stagnant growth, having stagnant growth, and then planning for stagnant growth in the future." **Ben Elenbaas, on travel time presentation:** "And to present it like, it's just 5 minutes further is insane. That's at least 25 minutes to a half hour." **Rob Ney, on the cost comparison:** "Just in comparison, when we were designing the Northwest annex redevelopment project, it was about 650 bucks a square foot. Is what that cost of construction was, if we purchase this building, our, our acquisition costs is in the 260 dollar range of foot." **Kayla Schott-Bresler, on county service locations:** "I will just say like it is pretty common for county services to be in county seats. And so it has been sort of a unusual perk for unincorporated residents to have Planning and Development Services up at the annex." **Rob Ney, explaining the validation process:** "It would be like, I wanna build my kitchen, but I have to look at all the different options of what I want, what kind of cabinets I want, what kind of floor layout I want, what level of countertops do I want, what level of flooring do I want, do I want heated floors?"

# Whatcom County Finance Committee Tackles Major Property Purchase and Budget Amendments ## Meeting Overview The Whatcom County Council Finance and Administrative Services Committee convened on Tuesday morning, January 27, 2026, in their hybrid chambers format, with Committee Chair Jon Scanlon presiding. All seven council members were present for most of the meeting: Elizabeth Boyle, Barry Buchanan, Ben Elenbaas, Kaylee Galloway, Jessica Rienstra, Jon Scanlon, and Mark Stremler. The meeting, which ran from 9:25 a.m. to 10:24 a.m., featured significant discussions about a major property acquisition to replace the aging Northwest Annex building, along with routine budget amendments and administrative items. What made this meeting notable was the presentation of a comprehensive solution to the county's long-standing Northwest Annex problem — the potential purchase of Western Washington University's administrative services building near Sehome Village. This proposal represented a dramatic shift from an earlier $63 million redevelopment plan that the county abandoned as too costly. ## The Northwest Annex Property Solution The centerpiece of the meeting was Rob Ney's presentation on behalf of Facilities about purchasing Western Washington University's administrative services building to replace the 100-year-old Northwest Annex. Ney opened with context about the county's ongoing struggle: "As the council knows, or actually, maybe some of the new council members don't know the Northwest annex is 100 year old building that we've been trying to replace. For as long as I've been here, um, and well, before that, um. It has reached its useful life, and we have been trying to find an alternative for it for some time." The original solution — a ambitious $63 million Northwest Annex redevelopment project — had become financially untenable. As Ney explained, "when it was all said and done, and we got our last cost estimate, it was in the neighborhood of 63Million dollars. And we said, wow, we can't afford that." The new proposal emerged from negotiations that began when Western Washington University approached the county about leasing space for the sheriff's office. During those discussions, Ney said, Western "reached out to us and said, hey, we are thinking about leasing the 1st floor of our administrative services building, which is over by see home village right next to Dawson construction where the old movie theater used to be." After evaluating the building, county officials asked Western if they would consider selling rather than leasing. "And so through negotiation with Western, we have come to an agreement that we would purchase the building at the assessed evaluation," Ney reported. The deal includes Western occupying the second floor for two years, with the county providing one year of free rent and the second year's rent coming off the purchase price — roughly $300,000 in total reductions. The financial comparison was striking. While the original redevelopment project carried costs of "about 650 bucks a square foot," Ney noted, "if we purchase this building, our, our acquisition costs is in the 260 dollar range of foot. So it's substantially a better deal for the county." The county would move its planning department to the first floor immediately, with engineering services joining to create a "one stop shop for permitting." The county would have about two and a half years to determine how to use the second floor once Western vacates. ## Council Concerns About Location and Service The proposal generated significant discussion about relocating county services from the north side of town into Bellingham city limits. Council Member Ben Elenbaas raised sharp concerns, calling the presentation misleading: "to present it like, it's just 5 minutes further is insane. That's at least 25 minutes to a half hour." He continued with pointed criticism: "you don't have to come into the office. Yeah, by force. That's like us forecasting for stagnant growth, having stagnant growth, and then planning for stagnant growth in the future. People don't like the way our permitting process works. They're not going to like going to downtown Bellingham." Council Member Mark Stremler echoed these concerns: "I voiced some concern about that right from the get go also. And I'm thinking that the community who is in the permit world, they likely haven't even heard about this. So they haven't maybe given any feedback about it. Eventually they will catch on, right? What's going on. So, we may hear from them yet." However, other officials pushed back on these concerns. Planning and Development Services Director Mark Personius, joining by phone, noted that much of the county's business has moved online: "We do most of our business now by phone call, by email, or by the online web portal for the Intergov permitting system. So folks can check in remotely and get a lot of their questions answered compared to the old days when everything was sort of across the counter." Kayla Schott-Bresler from the Executive's Office added context about county services: "I will just say like it is pretty common for county services to be in county seats. And so it has been sort of a unusual perk for unincorporated residents to have Planning and Development Services up at the annex." Council Member Elizabeth Boyle sought to find middle ground, asking "is there a way to have a conversation about how we could become even, like what else could we do to care for them in this transition? Just to make sure that we make space and time to, like we see that this is a little bit of an adjustment, but this is what we're gonna do to care for you." ## Funding Sources and Related Projects The property acquisition involves a complex web of funding sources, requiring three separate ordinances. Ney explained that money would come from "the closure of the Northwest annex redevelopment fund, which has 2 and a half 1Million dollars roughly. 3Million dollars from the capital reserve fund. 1Million dollars from EDI and then 1.2Million dollars redirected from the whole vendor part building improvement fund. 900,000 dollars from week 2." This funding shuffle affects other county projects. Parks Director Bennett Knox addressed the impact on Hovander Park improvements: "we obviously have had this plan for regional facility. In our process for about a decade, so, if you recall, we, uh, there were plans developed about a decade ago. It didn't move to, uh, to funding. So we've, we've dusted that off." Knox indicated that parks would "look to come back at a future date when when the environment improves" and possibly return in 2027 for Hovander funding. The discussion also touched on long-term plans for the current Northwest Annex site and search-and-rescue operations. Ney suggested the county could potentially "short plat that property and sell off the Western part where the actual Northwest annex building is and retain the rest of the storage building" to provide more clarity for search and rescue. ## New Justice Facility Budget Request Rob Ney also presented a $2.36 million budget request for the county's new public health, safety, and justice facility project — the new jail. "This amount of money would extend us through the end of validation, which is in the June range," Ney explained. The validation process involves determining the size, scope, and final cost estimates for the facility. Council Member Barry Buchanan asked for clarification on the validation process. Ney used a kitchen renovation analogy: "It would be like, I wanna build my kitchen, but I have to look at all the different options of what I want, what kind of cabinets I want, what kind of floor layout I want, what level of countertops do I want." He explained that validation involves extensive meetings with the sheriff's office, design team, and facilities staff to determine housing unit specifications, booking restrictions, and overall facility requirements. At the end of validation, Ney said, "we're gonna have a product that says, here's the jail. We believe this is how big it's going to be. And this is a guesstimation of how much it's gonna, no, I shouldn't say guesstimation, an estimation of how much it's gonna cost." Council members expressed frustration about project transparency. Council Member Buchanan asked about public access to project financials, noting that "people are like, we're spending this money, we haven't moved a shovel of dirt. Where's it all going?" Ney acknowledged that an information portal showing project finances was "almost live" and should be available soon. ## Glacier Restrooms and Tourism Investment In a much shorter discussion, Parks Director Bennett Knox presented the Glacier Restroom Improvements project, funded through lodging tax recommendations. The $475,000 project will improve restroom facilities serving recreational users along the Mount Baker corridor. When Council Member Scanlon questioned whether two public restrooms were needed so close to Forest Service facilities, Knox and Assistant Parks Director Chris Thompson explained the operational differences. Thompson noted that "the Forest Service restrooms are not open when the visitor center is closed. So we're providing that additional service of 24-hour public restroom facility in that corridor." ## Budget Amendments and Administrative Items Finance Director Randy Rydell presented a $7.1 million budget amendment covering various projects and fund transfers. Most items were relatively routine, including parks software modernization, EMS equipment for Fire District 7, and conservation futures spending. Rydell emphasized that "over the general fund, there is about $16,000 of net new budget, which is good to see" since most items had offsetting revenue sources. One notable item was funding for a generator at Van Zandt Community Hall. Rydell explained this would allow the facility "to serve as a cooling center in the summer in the event of power outages" with improved HVAC capabilities. ## Bay to Baker Trail Progress The committee also addressed the Bay to Baker Trail project during discussion of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy update. Parks Director Knox provided an update on the Kendall to Glacier segment, explaining that the county is "currently in the process of putting together the grant agreement with WSDOT" for $175,000 in planning funds. Knox outlined an 18-month planning process "which will involve pretty significant stakeholder engagement" and noted that "over this next 18 months, our primary objective, in addition to developing the plan, is to do the community outreach that puts us in position for future funding, whether that be state or federal grants." The planned trail will be significantly more substantial than the current path. "The standards for this planning effort, we're looking to have this be a multimodal trail rather than a footpath. So it will be ultimately, the plan is to have it be at least 12 feet wide and paved and ADA accessible," Knox explained. ## Treasurer's Administrative Items County Treasurer Steve Oliver presented two annual administrative items that the committee quickly approved. The first involved property tax refunds totaling $3.3 million — higher than usual due to Board of Equalization value changes from the last valuation cycle. The second item addressed uncollectible personal property taxes, primarily affecting business equipment and mobile homes. Oliver explained the challenges of collecting these taxes, particularly in bankruptcy situations: "Even though the bankruptcy code says these taxes aren't dischargeable, a lot of times the court will go ahead and order the discharge of them or they'll make no arrangements for them to be paid." Oliver noted that the legislature recently authorized treasurers to write off taxes where collection costs would exceed the tax amount: "it's just not a good use of taxpayer money to spend more money than you're trying to collect." ## Consent Agenda and Routine Business The committee quickly approved eleven consent agenda items totaling over $1.1 million in various contracts and agreements. These included family mediation services, courthouse security, radio repair rate adjustments, and a collective bargaining agreement with the sheriff's management group. The only question arose on an interlocal agreement with Maple Falls Water Cooperative for a $555,300 water storage tank replacement project. Council Member Galloway asked about the increased tank size — from 37,000 to 47,000 gallons — but staff didn't have immediate details on whether the increase was for fire pressure or future development needs. ## Closing and What's Ahead The meeting concluded efficiently at 10:24 a.m., with Chair Scanlon adjusting the start time for the next committee meeting to 10:45 a.m. The Northwest Annex property purchase, justice facility funding, and budget amendments were all scheduled for introduction at the evening council meeting, with final votes expected at the next regular council session. The day's discussions revealed ongoing tensions between fiscal pragmatism and service accessibility, particularly around the Northwest Annex relocation. While staff emphasized cost savings and operational efficiencies, several council members clearly worried about the impact on rural constituents who would face longer drives to access county planning and permitting services. These concerns will likely continue as the items move through the full legislative process in the coming weeks.